Ágora IFZ | 14/03/2023

The Director-General of the Zero Hunger Institute, José Graziano da Silva, was honored today, at the 15th edition of the traditional Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, in the United Arab Emirates. The award was given for his dedication and support in the fight for food for the nomadic peoples of the Saudi Arabian desert, when he held the position of Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), of the United Nations (UN).

Graziano was the only non-Arab honoree in this edition, which awarded five public figures in the country and was attended by local authorities such as Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, President of the Award’s Board of Trustees. The event takes place simultaneously with the first International Conference on Date Production and Trade, to talk about the importance of of this superfood that kept the people of Arab countries well fed in desert environments, where natural resources, such as water, are scarce.